Typically responds within
A few hours
Vacancies
Taking enrolments
BestStart MacDonald Street provides childcare to children aged 3 months to 6 years old all through the year. Convienently located off Hewletts and Maunganui roads we have a wonderful learning environment with a spacious kiwi backyard our children love. With School's Out just behind us, we're perfectly located for parents with school aged children too.
Be Strong : Be Brave : Be Steadfast
Kia Kaha : Kia Māia : Kia Manawanui
Be Strong: Kia Kaha - At BestStart MacDonald Street we empower our children to stand strong in their journey, to embrace and explore their cultural diversities and to stand up and stand out. Children are respected and valued for having their own unique inner superpower/strength.
Be Brave: Kia Māia - We’re dedicated to inspiring children to be active participants in their learning, to bravely fly and take risks.
Be Steadfast: Kia Manawanui - We believe in role modelling and fostering relationships with all our whānau and tamariki that are steadfast in loyalty, faithfulness, commitment, and devotion, supporting our tamariki to develop unwavering relationships as their foundation.
Special learning spaces - Our learning programme provides education in a respectful and nurturing environment for children in 3 special age-based rooms: Infants from 3 months to 2 years; Toddlers from 2-3-year-olds; Pre-schoolers aged 3-5 years old. Our backyard environment allows children to engage in physical activity, nature, and opportunities for uninterrupted exploration. Our teaching - Our inspirational and enthusiastic teachers provide remarkable childcare through a range of activities that explore the children’s interests. Each child is unique, and we have individual development programmes and an e-portfolio that records their learning and development, empowering our children to stand strong in their journey.
Primary schools partnership - We are close to several primary schools in the area - Mount Primary, Arakaki, Omanu, and St Thomas More Catholic school - and have a close working relationship with them to support our children’s transition into school. Schools-Out, Out of School Care and Recreation is located on our premises and provides care for primary age children before and after school and holiday programmes. These partnerships foster relationships with whanau, tamariki and community that are steadfast, consistent, and reliable.
Extra-curricular activities - Our older children enjoy an optional swimming lesson twice a week during term time – a skill we feel every New Zealand child should have. Physical development is enhanced through our natural and spacious kiwi backyard.
Who is BestStart?
BestStart is for families who want more from early-childhood education. Safe, nurturing and educationally focused, we’re committed to growing caring people with curious minds.
Together we teach, learn and nurture.
Our vision is to work in partnership with families, whanau and communities to enable children to achieve their learning potential.
Ko tō mātou tirohanga hei mahi ngātahi i te taha o ngā whānau me ngā hāpori, kia āwhinatia ngā tamariki, kia tū pito mata ai rāatou, hei rangatira mō āpōpō.
We are committed to being a progressive and responsive leader in early-childhood education. We do this by enhancing our services, investing in our people, developing our support structure and continuously improving the educational outcomes and experiences of our children, families and the communities we serve.
Some facts:
- We’re licensed to educate and care for 15,000 full-time children daily.
- 18,000 families use BestStart services annually.
- We have over 270 centres nationwide located from Whangarei to Invercargill.
- Each centre is managed by a Centre Manager who is supported by a local Area Manager. This gives our centre teams ongoing quality training and support.
- Te Whāriki, the world-wide acclaimed national early childhood education curriculum, is used in all centres.
- We have over 4500 permanent teachers nationally. Over 90% of our permanent teaching staff are either fully qualified with a diploma or bachelor of teaching (ECE) or higher, or are in training. These figures are very high by national standards within the ECE sector.
- We provide a two-year Advice and Guidance Programme for all recently certified teachers, providing further mentoring and training. This gives strong support for teachers from provisional registration to full teacher registration with the NZ Teachers Council.
- We regularly spend around $4 million on teacher training per annum.
We’re for children
At our heart is our commitment and passion for children. Central to this belief is our focus on the holistic development of children. We support children to explore the world around them, learning through relationships, creating a love of learning in an ever-changing world. Exploration, friendship and fun are part of the journey.
We’re for good
BestStart is a registered charity owned by the Wright Family Foundation. We support initiatives and programmes within BestStart and the wider early-childhood education sector (ECE) that support good outcomes for all children. We do this because we want to make a positive difference to the lives of all children.
Innovation leads us
At BestStart, innovation guides our thinking. We advocate positive change for learners through our research and practice. We’re proud to be thought leaders within ECE, openly challenging ourselves to think differently to provide the best for our children, families and staff.
We’re responsive
Our centres reflect their children, staff and communities. We celebrate individuality, uniqueness and diversity, encouraging a spirit of empathy, understanding and collaboration. Through our responsive relationships and our curriculum, we support learners to choose their own path.
Our people matter
At BestStart people come first. When we grow and develop our people, everyone benefits. We strive for whakamana/empowerment, nurturing a culture of excellence with engaged, talented professionals. Their commitment, skill and passion light our way.
